"The Asian Financial Crisis" Public Seminar

Abstract

To derive valuable lessons in managing financial crises when they occur and how best to prevent them from recurring, the Asian Development Bank Institute and the Asian Development Bank, in cooperation with the Graduate Institute of International Studies in Geneva, jointly organized a public seminar entitled The Asian Financial Crisis. The seminar, held at the Geneva International Convention Center on April 28, 1998, brought together a distinguished group of policymakers, academics, central bankers, financial market representatives, and journalists from around the world. Over 800 people attended the seminar. A number of themes recurred throughout the seminar. First, there was a renewed call for accelerated, structural reform programs in the affected economies to strengthen not only their financial systems but also education, legal, labor markets, and other sectors. To this end, it was stressed that institutional development must keep pace with international technological and financial improvements. Second, the speakers echoed the widely recognized imperative of emerging markets to substantially shore up their banks' regulatory and supervisory systems, and to improve transparency and disclosure. Finally, the role of international cooperation was emphasized in properly diagnosing impending financial shocks, managing crisis situations more effectively, and devising better risk management techniques to create more resilient and robust financial systems.